Art

An exhibition of original drawings of “Jewish Types in Many Lands” by Lionel S. Reiss will be on view until May 21 at the Park Crescent Hotel, Riverside Drive at 87th Street. Shown for the first time in its entirety, the collection is made up of forty-seven pictures depicting Jewish types in eighteen European countries, in Asia Minor and in Africa. The show represents twelve years of work by the artist. It has been called by Benjamin de Casseres “a veritable Comedie Humaine of Judaism”.

According to the artist, the exhibition was arranged to illustrate the contention that the Jew has assimilated himself into almost every environment in which he has found himself. In his portrayals of the Jews in many lands, Mr. Reiss has caught the subtle differences in physiognomies. There is a richness in the Palestinian drawings particularly; they reveal the vitality of Palestinian life. The sketches of the Polish student and the Galician Chassid illustrate the blending of the Slavic features with the death-defying asceticism of the truly religious Jew who has bought his right to his own ways at a terrific cost.

Mr. Reiss’s art is enhanced by his knowledge of human beings. This collection of drawings, while it reveals the dexterity of the artist’s hand, also shows keen observation together with a comprehension of the nuances in Jewish life.

Several years ago when Mr. Reiss exhibited a collection of oils, watercolors, drawings and etchings under the title of “Europe’s Vanishing Ghettos”, he received interested comment from leaders in Jewish life as well as art critics. Ludwig Lewisohn wrote: “Your work seems to me to possess very high value not only as art but as history and I am grateful—as every one must be—for these records of the life and aspect of our people.”

The drawings in the present exhibition are not for sale. They were loaned by the artist for educational purposes. He hopes that some institution of learning may hang them in a room as a permanent exhibition.

The work of five Jewish artists will be represented in an exhibition of prints, water-colors and oils, by contemporary Americans, at the ACA Galleries, 1269 Madison Ave., from May 15 until May 31.

These artists are: Hy Cohen, who is a life member of the American Water Color Society and whose work has been bought by the Brooklyn Museum; Louis Wolchonick, who is a member of the Water Color Club, but who is best known as an etcher; Aaron Berkman who has exhibited at the New School for Social Research; Irvin D. Hoffman, who has also exhibited at the New School; and Edmund Weill, whose water colors have been acquired by the Brooklyn Museum.